For all intents and purposes, it might seem like the FIA’s more stringent load and deflection tests, introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix, have been for nothing.
However, whilst the pecking has remained largely unchanged, there are signs that teams prepared well for their arrival and have set about minimising their losses in the aftermath.
The more things change…
A protracted introduction for the new tests, rather than starting the season with them, drew consternation from some corners but it did at least offer everyone sufficient time to introduce solutions that would overcome the tests and divert resources to developing solutions that didn’t dramatically affect their performance baseline.
For the most part, you’d expect these changes to have centred around redesigning the front wing, and there are numerous examples of that, which we’ll cover shortly.
However, there have also been a number of changes made to areas of the car downstream, some of which are due to the natural development cycle, while others, such as the floor and ancillary components, are a consequence of the different flow structures emanating upstream.
McLaren’s announced updates since Spain
Spain – N/A
Canada – Front wing / front suspension & fairings / rear wing
Austria – Font brake duct / front suspension fairings / rear suspension fairings
Great Britain – Floor / rear brake duct
The suggestion from its rivals was that McLaren would be the ones most affected by a reduction in the front wing’s flexibility, albeit it was clear to see from the onboard footage that all of the teams were allowing the upper flaps to back-off at high speed to some degree.
McLaren was affected. It’s clear that the wing on its car, and others, doesn’t back-off the way that it once did. But because all of the teams were doing so, the losses are minimised, in a similar way to how we’ve seen performance scale when Technical Directives have come into force in the past.
Interestingly, McLaren didn’t jump into wide sweeping changes at the Spanish Grand Prix either. Although it clearly came inline with the new load and deflection tests, it didn’t modify other aspects of the front wing’s design, like its rivals.
Instead, it focused on the behaviour of the upper flaps and overall deformation of the wing, with alterations made to the position of the main adjuster (circled) and an additional horseshoe-style bracket being added between the two flaps (arrowed).
McLaren’s main changes came a race later, in Canada, with the team making revisions to the outboard portion of the wing, exchanging the rolled flap tip solution it had been using, for a less rolled design mated to a clutch of winglets they termed ‘mermaid tails’ (above, right).
As has become a common theme for McLaren, it didn’t race it in Canada, choosing to verify its credentials from the data gathered during Free Practice before racing it from Austria onwards instead.
As we’ll see from how other teams have handled their front wing redesigns, it seems that without the manoeuvrability of the upper flaps, designers had to rethink how they handle outwash generation, with more emphasis placed on generating flow structures in the wing’s outer section.
Thereafter, there’s been changes made to the MCL39 downstream to account for the changes to the remainder of the flow field, especially how that impacts how those areas perform at different speeds – all teams were using the flexi-wings to help balance performance.
The first of those regions to be modified by McLaren is its front suspension, with the adjustments to the mechanical components being made hand-in-hand with some aerodynamic alterations.
The former of those changes had been done to improve Norris’ relationship with the car, with both drivers having suggested there was a numbness in the car’s feedback. However, having made those subtle adjustments, which McLaren was prepared to make, having been reticent to do so earlier in the season as it may have hurt their tyre performance, it needed to correct the airflow structures passing by.
The big changes here come to the inboard portion of the fairing, with a more aggressively upwashed section employed in order to work the airflow harder than before and alter its trajectory ahead of the floor and sidepods.
Those, along with alterations to the rear suspension were made the Austrian Grand Prix before the team made a change to the floor for Silverstone, which was another item that was tested on Friday before being packed away again and will now likely reappear at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Another change, made in the chain, takes cues from their rivals in adjusting the size and shape of the edge wing, whilst introducing more control vanes on the upper surface.
Ferrari’s announced updates since Spain
Spain – Front wing / rear wing
Canada – N/A
Austria – Floor, fences, edge wing & diffuser
Great Britain – N/A
Ferrari made changes to its front wing for the Spanish Grand Prix, with a new design emerging in the outboard section, similar to the one used by Mercedes for some time.
The vane (arrowed, inset) sits above the flap tips, creating an additional boxed section where it connects to the endplate, which in-turn helps with the airflow’s navigation, promoting more outwash.
Ferrari had an extensive update package for its floor at the Austrian Grand Prix, not only in order to take advantage of alterations already made to the front wing in Spain, but also to remedy some inefficiencies it’d discovered during the opening phase of the season.
Of course, there’s a heap going on under the floor that’s out of view, but there were also a number of changes made externally, such as the revised outer floor fence notch, which now has a tapered topline, rather than a stepped finish (inset, arrowed).
The fences inboard of this were also amended in terms of their relative position and shape, in order to better manage the flow downstream.
Meanwhile, the edge wing has also been revised, with the front corner now connected with a more solid bracket (arrowed), rather than having a horseshoe-style bracket as was previously the case (inset, arrowed).
This not only alters how the airflow moves and pressure forms around this section, it also changes how the edge wing flexes, with the team perhaps requiring something more robust across the speed range.
The edge wing itself was also fettled, with the length and camber of the upturned section at the front of assembly adjusted.
The team also announced that the volume of the diffuser had been altered, in order to take advantage of the upstream adjustments, albeit the most obvious visual aspect of that alteration is to the pinched section in the upper corner of the diffuser.
Red Bull’s announced updates since Spain
Spain – Front wing
N/A
Austria – Floor edge & edge wing
Great Britain – Floor & fences
Red Bull, much like McLaren, seemed happy with how its wing performed even with the arrival of the new load and deflections tests, with modifications centered around making sure it would pass the more stringent tests.
This did include some light revisions when it came to the shape and makeup of the upper flaps and tip sections but, the most extensive alteration was to the adjuster being repositioned to sit on the pivot, rather than on the flap.
Red Bull followed this up with what was intended to be one package but, given the revised edge wing solution was ready for Austria, they opted to debut it early as it was expected to give a small boost in isolation.
The new design is similar to many of its rivals, with the tail section forming an L-Shape that intersects with a new mouse hole in the sidewall of the floor’s edge. The rear tyre spat section is also modified, as a consequence, whilst the position of the top vane (arrowed) has been altered and the addition of a support bracket beside also forms a similar shape.
Much of the work undertaken in changes being made to the floor is often out of view and concentrated on improving flow conditions to the floor facing surfaces.
However, the shape changes made to the upper surfaces is often indicative of how those changes manifest on the underside, with Red Bull making some alterations to the volume around the floor fences, as evidenced in the revised bulge (arrowed).
Mercedes’ announced updates since Spain
Spain – Floor edge, floor fences / rear wing
Canada – Rear brake duct, floor edge
Austria – front brake duct / engine cover
Great Britain – N/A
Mercedes had already appeared jumped the gun in terms of front wing modifications, having introduced a new design at Imola. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t still need to enact the rest of its rectification plan, with a revised floor introduced in Spain.
The changes, which included a revision to the floor fences, also saw the team increase the length of the upturned section of the edge wing, whilst reducing its camber and adding two more vanes on its face, all of which were less steeply angled.
Just a race later, in Canada, another floor edge wing arrived, featuring a similar layout to the one used in Spain, albeit the upturned edge had more camber again, whilst the vanes were also more pronounced again too.
The themes seen here with the top four teams are ones that we continue to see up and down the grid, with alterations made to the outboard section of front wing designs to rectify the way in which outwash is generated, now that there’s less flex from the front wing.
Meanwhile, adjustments to the floor and ancillary components have also been made, in order that the new flow structures they’re receiving are keyed correctly.
Aston Martin’s announced updates since Spain
Spain – Front wing
Canada – FBD
Austria – N/A
Great Britain – Floor, fences, edge & edge wing / sidepods
Alpine’s announced updates since Spain
Spain – Floor, floor fences
Canada – Front wing
Austria – N/A
Great Britain – N/A
Haas’ announced updates since Spain
Spain – Front wing
Canada – N/A
Austria – N/A
Great Britain – Floor, fences & edge wing / Sidepods
Racing Bulls’ announced updates since Spain
Spain – Front wing / nose
Canada – Front wing / rear brake duct
Austria – Front wing / rear wing
Great Britain – Front wing
Williams’ announced updates since Spain
Spain – Front wing / rear brake duct / cooling louvres
Canada – N/A
Austria – N/A
Great Britain – Floor fences
Sauber’s announced updates since Spain
Spain – Front wing / floor / sidepods
Canada – N/A
Austria – Floor, edge wing & diffuser / rear wing
Great Britain – Floor / front wing
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